Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Wisconsin photog chronicles Desert Storm


News from WDVA:
The Wisconsin Veterans Museum will open The Scorching Desert Sun: A Wisconsin Photographer Chronicles Operation Desert Storm exhibit on Friday, January 14, 2011. The exhibit will remain on display until March 31, 2011. As a photographer for the 28th Public Affairs Team, Sergeant Mike Weber documented the actions of the 82nd Airborne Division during the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm. From the capture of prisoners-of-war and the confiscation of ordnance, Weber saw it all. The latter action, though, has proven to be the most difficult as Weber, like many of his fellow Gulf War veterans, still suffers from the effects of exposure to leaking or detonated chemical weapons. This photography exhibit, culled from the collections of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, chronicles Weber’s tour in Iraq, from staging in Kuwait, to the charge into Iraqi territory, and the American interaction with Iraqi civilians. Questions about the exhibit may be directed to Jeff Kollath, Curator of Programs & Exhibitions at (608) 261-0541. For more information go to www.wisvetsmuseum.com.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Scocos lands post in Walker administration


From Wisconsin State Journal politics writer Mary Spicuzza

John Scocos is back.

The former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs has landed a job with the Walker Administration.

Scocos attended a Cabinet meeting Tuesday afternoon, where it was announced that he's been named deputy secretary of the state Department of Regulation and Licensing.

Scocos was fired from his post in Nov. 2009, just two months after returning from a tour in Iraq. He was replaced with Ken Black, an agency official he had recently demoted.

Scocos was secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2003 until last year, is and a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

The Veterans Affairs board had been signaling disapproval of the agency's leadership for months leading up to Scocos' firing. But the board members pushing for his removal had been appointed by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.